Published November 11, 2020
By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — The elementary schools’ expansion project is critically needed, a group of educators stated during an episode of “Town Talk” on Nov. 4.
Town Administrator Rob Dolan, who hosts the Lynnfield Media Studios show, explained that a Special Town Meeting has been scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 21 in order to ask townspeople to approve expanding the two elementary schools. The Special Town Meeting will begin at 1:30 p.m. at Lynnfield High School’s Pioneer Stadium.
The $17 million expansion project entails constructing permanent additions onto both schools that would each contain five classrooms. Two existing classrooms at both schools would be renovated as well. The project includes making other improvements to both schools, including enlarging Huckleberry Hill School’s gym.
If the Special Town Meeting approves the project, voters will then be asked to approve a debt exclusion at a special election on Tuesday, Dec. 8.
Dolan said both elementary schools are “running at capacity.”
“The number one issue facing the town of Lynnfield right now are school enrollment issues and overcrowding in our elementary schools,” said Dolan. “We are facing a crisis.”
If the expansion project does not move forward, Summer Street School fourth grade teacher Christine Percoskie said class sizes at both elementary schools will get bigger.
“Lynnfield has always prided itself on its small class sizes,” said Percoskie. “Our teachers really get to know students and teach to where a student is at. That benefits us because we do a lot of small group instruction, and our small class sizes allow that to happen. If our class sizes increase to 28, 29 or 30 students, we will not be able to do that.”
Huckleberry Hill School Principal Melissa Wyland noted that the school system would not be able to run its current hybrid model if there were larger class sizes than they are currently.
“At Huckleberry Hill, we have four classrooms where we could not fit another student in our cohort,” said Wyland. “We would not be able to run a hybrid model with larger class sizes.”
Huckleberry Hill School kindergartener teacher Jayne Swirka said larger class sizes “would truly present a problem.”
“It is kindergarten teachers’ job to make it a successful year,” said Swirka. “If we have larger class sizes, we are going to have a difficult time getting to know these individual learners. It’s our job to know them personally and academically. These are really young children, and it’s really hard to pinpoint challenges in young children if we don’t have that time with them or get to know them as learners. It’s going to be harder to pick up on those challenges and it will be harder to meet their needs. This is the most important time to identify any kind of educational challenge.”
Summer Street School Principal Dr. Karen Dwyer said having Lynnfield Preschool at Summer Street has benefited students.
“Whether students go on to Huckleberry Hill School or stay at Summer Street School, the children know there are adults in the building who really care about them,” said Dwyer. “I think that makes the transition to elementary school that much easier.”
Summer Street School art teacher Yota Kariotis and Huckleberry Hill School music teacher Kerrie Fraser said the art and music programs at both schools would be negatively impacted if the district moved toward a cart-based model.
“We are really fortunate in the elementary schools to be able to have a variety of materials that the children can use,” said Kariotis. “The children are exposed to clay, using plaster and large-scale painting. I think all of that would have to be eliminated unfortunately. We are kind of experiencing that this year due to COVID. We are on carts and I unfortunately had to disappoint children by letting them know we can’t do some of the things they look forward to every year. It really breaks my heart that could be a long-term issue for them. There aren’t a ton of opportunities in our area for art and music after school. For a lot of kids, this is the only time in their elementary lives they are getting art and getting music.”
Fraser concurred with Kariotis’ viewpoint.
“We have a lot of beautiful resources we are able to keep in the music room, but it’s not just physically possible to transport them to other classrooms,” said Fraser. “The room is supposed to be a place where creativity abounds. If you look left, there is a large drum for students to use and if you look right, there is a large xylophone. When students are in our music room, we want students to be actively making music at all times. I want students’ lives to be enhanced by music.”
Fraser added that older elementary students use recorders as well as other instruments in the music room. She said it will be impossible to have students playing instruments in traditional classrooms if a cart-based model was permanently implemented.
“Having the music room allows us to get kind of loud,” said Fraser.
Dwyer said art and music allows students to “recharge” and “refocus.”
Due to current space issues at Huckleberry Hill School, Swirka noted that an English language learners teacher and a Title 1 teacher are currently educating students in a hallway outside of her classroom.
“It would be more optimal to have that extra space,” said Swirka.
Retired Superintendent Jane Tremblay, who is working as a consultant on the expansion project, said redistricting will not solve the space issues at both schools because both schools are running at capacity.
“I would love it if redistricting would work because we wouldn’t be going through this process in the most challenging of times,” said Tremblay. “We are already running at maximum capacity at both of our schools, so there is no place to redistrict because both of the inns are full. In towns where redistricting would work have more than two elementary schools. We are a tiny, tiny town and our elementary schools are one-mile apart.”
Wyland said that Huckleberry Hill’s projected enrollment for next year will require the elementary school to have the art or music programs move to cart-based models. She said the elementary school will be “out of space” in the next two years if the expansion project does not pass.
“Taking the art and music room, which would be devastating to us, doesn’t solve the problem,” said Wyland. “If we continue to grow as the data shows, we will run out of classroom space.”
Dwyer and Wyland both noted that the project would allow each elementary school to upgrade their existing play areas, parking lots and pick-up and drop-off areas.
All of the educators urged townspeople to approve the elementary schools’ expansion project.
“I have been here for over 18 years and I absolutely love this district,” said Wyland. “There are so many things that make me proud to be an educator here. We focus on building relationships and supporting our students socially and emotionally, and helping every student who walks through the door succeed. I really worry that if we have really larger class sizes, we won’t be able to continue the excellence in both education and social and emotional growth that we do now. Our kids deserve that.”
Percoskie recalled that she moved to town with her family because townspeople have historically supported the schools and whatever is in children’s best interest.
“I think putting this project forward is in the best interest of children,” said Percoskie.
